Dawn of Shadows
by Count Morningstar
Summary: While taking a simple trip through Sinnoh, Ash and his friends meet a Pokemon Coordinator named Dawn. Things are fine at first, but a strange encounter that Misty has with Dawn makes her wonder if Dawn is truly sane. And when a storm forces the gang to take shelter in the Old Chateau, terror begins to take root. Rated M for some stuff in chapter 3.
1. A Trip to the Woods

**Introduction:** In this story of my Pokemon AU, I'm going to get back to my horror roots. I've been working on this story in my head for quite awhile now. And now I'm finally getting it off the ground. This story takes a couple of months after my last Pokemon story, Half Moon Bay. You don't really need to read that story to understand everything that going on here though. And hopefully I've done a good job of reintroducing my OCs. Anyway, on with the show.

**WARNING:** This story contains such a high level of shocking horror that you may die of fright while reading it. Please proceed with caution and do not read if you have a heart condition. (I'm just kidding around. But really, I am going to ty and take the horror level in this story to the max).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Trip to the Woods

The light of the morning sun shining through the window gently awakened the twenty-three year old Pokemon Trainer, Ash Ketchum. He sat up in bed and took a look at his surroundings and saw that he was in a small white hotel room with a single T.V., dresser, closet, and bathroom. As his brain finished booting up, Ash recalled that he was in a hotel in Eterna City in Sinnoh. Sound asleep at the foot of the bed was a small yellow rodent-like creature with long black-tipped pointed ears, red cheeks, and tail shaped like a lightning bolt. This of course was Ash's most faithful Pokemon, Pikachu.

Sitting in the corner of the room, also sound asleep, was another creature that resembled a bipedal jackal. Much of the fur on its body was blue, though its paws were black and there was a band of black fur around its eyes that made it look as if the creature was wearing a mask. The fur of the creature's torso was cream-colored, and protruding from its chest and the back of the paws on its arms were metal spikes. This was another of Ash's most loyal Pokemon, Lucario. And like Pikachu, Lucario preferred to remain out of its Pokeball.

As then looked to his left on the bed. Asleep next to him was a young woman with long orange hair. This was Ash's longtime girlfriend and traveling companion, Misty. Ash smiled warmly at the site of Misty curled up on her side, a peaceful expression on her sleeping face. He the glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand on his right and saw that it was 8:00 AM. Ash planted a light kiss on the back of Misty's neck, causing her to stir and slowly open her green eyes.

"Hey there." Ash greeted quietly.

"What time is it?" Misty asked drowsily.

"It's 8:00, we should probably get going." Ash answered.

"Okay." Misty said as she slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep in her eyes. "I get the bathroom first."

With that, Misty got out of bed and quickly went into the bathroom, her movements inadvertently awakening Pikachu and Lucario as well. A few minutes later, Ash had finished dressing in his usual outfit of a black t-shirt, a blue vest, blue jeans, and green and white tennis shoes. Ash's long black hair was also tied back in a ponytail.

"Ready to go?" Misty asked she emerged from the bathroom in a pink jacket, blue and white striped shirt, denim shorts, and red shoes.

"Just waiting on you." Ash replied. "Let's get going."

Moments later, Ash and Misty had entered the front of the hotel with Pikachu and Lucario. As they headed for the front desk to check out, they saw already there a familiar young man who looked to be in his twenties. He had spiked blond hair and wore sunglasses, a yellow vest over a black t-shirt, faded jeans, and black boots. Slung across his back was a red electric guitar. Both Ash and Misty recognized the young man as their old friend, Bolt Hanson.

"Hey Bolt." Ash called over as he and Misty headed to the front desk.

"Oh, hey you guys." Bolt said after turning to see whom it was. "What brings you here to Eterna City?"

"We were staying the nigh here on our way to Eterna Forest." Ash answered. "Are you just checking in?"

"Checking out actually." Bolt answered. "I'm on my way to a gig in the net city."

"Maybe you could tag along with us to the forest." Misty suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Bolt agreed. "I mean it is on my way. Plus I haven't hung out with you guys for a couple of months."

"Well then, what're we waiting for? Let's get going!" Ash said to the group.

A few minutes later Ash, Misty, and Bolt had left the city and were on the open route to Eterna forest.

"So why are you guys headed to Eterna Forest?" Bolt asked the couple.

"We're sorta doing a favor for Professor Oak." Ash explained. "He asked Misty and I to help him and the other Pokemon Professors write a book comparing the major forests of different regions. So he's been sending us around to take notes on the different Pokemon that live in the forests."

"Wow, I never pictured you guys as the type to do research." Bolt told them.

"Well, it's a nice change of pace from having to save the world half the time." Ash pointed out.

"Plus I'm using this opportunity to try and get over my fear of Bug Pokemon." Misty added.

"How's that goin'?" Bolt asked.

"Not very well actually." Misty admitted.

"Tell me about it." Ash sighed.

In a few moments the group saw someone heading towards them down the road. As they came closer they saw that it was a young woman who looked to be in her late teens to early twenties. She had long blue hair being held in place by yellow berets on the sides. She wore a white snowcap with a pink logo that looked like a Pokeball on the front, along with a black buttoned-up vest over a sleeveless white shirt, a short pink skirt, and pink boots. Tied around her neck was a fetching pink scarf, and on her left wrist was a pink watch with a white band. The young woman carried a large pink bag with a white strap slung over her shoulder.

Waddling at the feet of the young blunette was a short penguin-like bird with a large blue head and a light-blue body. It had a short orange beak and large white circles around its eyes, along with two small white circles on the front of its chest.

"Hey, that's a Piplup, isn't it?" Ash observed, referring to the small bird Pokemon.

"Well look at that." Bolt said with a smile as he looked at the approaching young woman from over his sunglasses. "She certainly has grown since I last saw her."

"You know that girl?" Misty asked Bolt.

"Yeah, her name's Dawn." Bolt answered. "She's from my hometown of Twinleaf Town. I started my Pokemon journey about three or fours years before she did. I saw her a few other times after that, but it has been quite awhile."

Before long the group had met up with Dawn and Piplup. They all stopped upon encountering each other.

"Oh, hi there." Dawn greeted.

"Hey Dawn." Bolt said in a suave manner as he removed his sunglasses. "It's been a long time hasn't it?"

"Oh, Bolt Hanson." Dawn said with an expression that made it clear that she wasn't happy to see Bolt. "What're you doing back in Sinnoh?"

"I got a gig in the next town. You certainly have grown a lot since I last saw ya Dawn." Bolt said as his eyes drifted down to Dawn's fully developed chest.

"Hey! Eyes up front Hanson!" Dawn shouted.

"Uh, hi. I'm Misty." Misty quickly cut in. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, same here." Dawn said as her expression quickly mellowed and she shook Misty's hand.

"And I'm Ash Ketchum." Ash added in. "I'm Misty's boyfriend by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Dawn greeted back to Ash. "So where are you all headed?"

"We're going to Eterna Forest." Ash explained. "You're welcome to come with if you want."

"Hmm… well, I actually am headed in the other direction." Dawn told them. "Still, it might be nice to take a break."

Before Dawn could decide anything, Piplup quickly started waddling over to Pikachu and Lucario, but tripped half way over. Lucario went over to help Piplup up, but the little penguin got back to its feet and took a proud pose as if to say it had meant to do that. Pikachu laughed a bit and Lucario chuckled.

"Well, it seems that those three have really hit it off." Dawn observed. "Okay, I guess I'll hang out with you guys for a little while."

With that, the group continued on to Eterna Forest. Ash and Bolt took point while Misty and Dawn walked a little further behind, with Pikachu, Piplup, and Lucario filing the gap in between.

"So have you known Bolt long?" Misty asked Dawn.

"You could say that." Dawn answered. "We do come from the same town. And I'll admit that I did used to have a crush on him. But I quickly grew out of it, especially when we met once after I started my journey and he came onto me."

"That does sound like Bolt." Misty sighed. "Him and another friend of mine."

"You know, looking back on it now I don't know what I ever saw in the guy." Dawn continued. "I mean he's a nice guy, but he's so full of himself. Plus he's kinda dumb. You know he overslept on the day he was supposed to start his journey, so by the time he got to Professor Rowan's lab all the normal Starter Pokemon were taken. So the only Pokemon the professor had left for him was a Shinx. Can you imagine going out with someone who'd make a dumb mistake like that?"

"Uh, yeah, that would be pretty lame." Misty said with an insincere and slightly embarrassed laugh, as she knew full well that that was exactly how Ash had wound up with Pikachu as his first Pokemon.

"So how do you and Ash know Bolt?" Dawn asked.

"We met him a little over ten years ago near Ecruteak City in Johto." Misty explained. "We ended up having a pretty big adventure back then."

Meanwhile up ahead, Ash and Bolt noticed something down the road that was heading in their direction. It was not long at all before they saw that it was a cream-colored horse with a mane and tail made out of flames and a single horn on its forehead. Ash and Bolt recognized the Pokemon as a Rapidash, and there was someone riding it. That person was a young woman with raven hair wearing a red t-shirt with a denim vest and shorts. Ash and Bolt both smiled with recognition.

"Hey Misty! Looks like Lisa's here too!" Ash called back.

"Oh really?" Misty said with a smile.

"Another friend of yours?" Dawn asked Misty.

"Yeah, Lisa Flare." Misty explained. "We met her about the same time we met Bolt."

Before long, the group met up with Lisa. The raven-haired rider was pleased to see them. Right away Ash and the others noticed that there was someone else riding on Rapidash's back holding onto Lisa's midsection. The person was another young woman with blond hair and very fair skin wearing a sort of black sleeveless jacket, black pants and shoes, and sunglasses. Her head was resting on Lisa's left shouder. Ash, Misty, and Bolt knew thins young woman as Marie Dantes, who was formally the most feared agent of Team Rocket, Noir Mask.

"I certainly didn't expect to see you guys here." Lisa greeted.

"Same here." Ash replied. "I see you and Marie are still traveling through Sinnoh."

"Marie?" Dawn asked. "Did you meet her about the same time you met Bolt too?"

"Yeah, but it's… complicated." Misty replied. "But the short version is that Marie is Lisa's girlfriend."

"I see." Dawn replied.

"So Marie, you seem to be looking better than the last time we saw you." Ash said to the blond. Marie's only response was a sort of unconscious mumbling. "Um… is Marie asleep?"

"Oh, yeah. Marie isn't really a morning person." Lisa told him. "She dozed off about as soon as we got back on the road."

"How does she not fall off Rapidash while you're riding?" Bolt asked.

"Well I usually ride pretty slow anymore. Plus she holds onto me pretty tight." Lisa explained. "Sometimes I wonder if she thinks I'm a pillow when she's asleep like this. It's actually really cute."

"Huh? Wha?" Marie said drowsily as she suddenly woke up. "Are we in Eterna City yet?"

"Not yet angel. We ran into some friends." Lisa explained.

"It's good to see you again Marie." Misty greeted.

"Oh, hello Misty, Ash, Bolt…" Marie greeted back, but she paused when she got to Dawn. "Um…"

"Oh, we've never met before. I'm Dawn." Dawn explained. "It's nice to meet you two."

"Charmed." Marie replied. "You'll have to forgive me, I'm not at my best this time of the day."

"Where are all of you headed?" Lisa asked the group.

"We're going to Eterna Forest." Ash explained. "You can come with if you want."

"Well we did just come from there. Still… what do you think Marie?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, a trip to the forest might be nice." Marie agreed.

"That settles then." Lisa agreed. "We'll go with."

And so the group continued onward, and before long they had entered a forest of tall trees with thick branches that almost completely blocked out the sky. Before long they came to one of those tall trees and decided to camp out by it for a bit. Lisa called back Rapidash once she and Marie dismounted. After that they all sat down in sort of an informal circle, with Lisa leaning against the tree and Marie leaning next to her.

"So Dawn, you never told us what kind of trainer you are." Misty said in an attempt to begin a conversation.

"Oh, I'm a Pokemon Coordinator." Dawn revealed. "It's been my dream to be as good a coordinator as my mom."

"Dawn's mom, Johanna, is a champion coordinator." Bolt explained. "She's like a legend here in Sinnoh."

"Cool, so how well have you done as a coordinator?" Ash asked Dawn.

"Well I have won a few Grand Festivals." Dawn admitted. "But I still don't think I'm as good as my mom yet."

Suddenly, a Pokemon emerged from one of the Pokeballs on Marie's belt. It was a bipedal fox-like creature that stood at about five feet tall. It was mostly grey and had a pointed snout and ears. Its upper torso was covered in thick black fur, and on the top of its head was a large mass of red fur tied back into a ponytail by a large teal orb. Piplup was so startled by the Pokemon's appearance that it ran behind Dawn to hide.

"Oh wow, a Zoroark!" Dawn observed. "I've never seen one up close before."

Pikachu and Lucario approached Zoroark. Lucario and Zoroark gave each other a silent nod. Pikachu then greeted Zoroark in its own language, which the monster fox responded by giving a short growl and a wave. Eventually Piplup peeked out from behind Dawn.

"Oh, what a darling Piplup." Marie observed with a warm smile. "Don't be shy little one."

After a moment, Piplup began to quickly waddle over to Marie. The little penguin tripped half way over, causing Marie to chuckle a bit. But Piplup quickly got back up and went over to Marie. Marie then began slowly stroking the top of Piplup's head.

"Piplup seems to like you Marie." Dawn observed with a smile. "I think I'll take a little walk while you two get to know each other."

"I could come with if you want." Misty offered.

"Thanks, but I'm just going to look around the forest." Dawn assured her. "You just stay here and I'll be back in a bit."

With that, Dawn got up and left. Several minutes passed and the group had gotten quite relaxed. Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark were talking amongst themselves while Bolt was strumming something on his guitar, which had been set to acoustic mode. Piplup was napping on Marie's lap, while a very relaxed Marie was leaning against Lisa.

"Wow, I'm actually surprised to see that Marie has such a way with Pokemon." Misty quietly observed to Ash. "It's hard to believe that she was ever a member of Team Rocket."

"I kinda had a feeling from seeing how loyal Zoroark and her other Pokemon were to her when she was Noir Mask." Ash told her.

The little conversation they were having was interrupted by the sudden sound of thunder, which caused everyone to look up. Through the trees they saw that the sky was starting to become grey and overcast.

"Oh crap! Looks like a storm's coming." Bolt observed. "We better get out of this forest quick!"

"I'll go get Dawn." Misty said as she quickly got up and left.

Within moments Misty had gone deeper into the forest. As she walked between the tall trees under the slowly darkening sky, Misty found herself feeling on edge. She was afraid that she would suddenly encounter a swarm of Bug Pokemon and be surrounded. Without warning, a creature popped out from behind a tree, causing Misty to let out a short scream. But she soon saw that the creature floating before her was not a Bug Pokemon.

It was a fairly small shadowy looking creature that was mainly black in color. On the front of its head was something that looked like a nose, and on top was a small almost pointed bump. Around its small black eyes were large red circles with almost tear-shaped bumps near the bottom that gave the impression that the creature was crying. At its side were almost tendril-like arms with three fingers that curved in. Hanging beneath this floating head was a hook-like tail that allowed the creature to carry a golden mask that resembled a very feminine human face.

"Oh, a Yamask." Misty observed. "I never thought I'd see one around here though. Sorry I screamed at you before. I thought you were a Bug Pokemon, I'm kind of afraid of those. Of course I'm a little afraid of Ghost Pokemon too. Not that I have anything against you though."

The Yamask suddenly flew away from Misty further into the forest. Misty quickly started going after it, seeing to forget about her original search for Dawn.

"Hey wait! I'm sorry!" Misty called after the Yamask. "I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings!"

Before long, the Yamask had led Misty into a small clearing by a stream. Sitting against a tree and seeming to look off into space was Dawn. The Yamask that Misty had encountered began floating around Dawn and speaking to her in its own language.

"There you are Dawn!" Misty said with a relieved smile as she approached. "I've been looking for you. So I guess that's your Yamask, huh?"

Dawn looked at Misty with an odd expression. Misty then noticed that there was something different about Dawn's eyes. Not only did Dawn's eyes look as if they were a lighter shade of blue than before, but they had a sort of crazed look about them. Misty found this strange look in Dawn's eyes to be unsettling. Suddenly Dawn burst into laughter, which unsettled Misty even more.

"Um, is something funny?" Misty asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Oh, sorry. Just thinking of something else." Dawn said as she stopped laughing.

"Okay…" Misty replied, still feeling a bit uneasy. "So… that is your Yamask, isn't it?"

"That's right!" Dawn said happily. "Her name is Helen."

"Helen, huh?" Misty replied. "That's kinda pretty. How'd you come up with it?"

"Well that's the name she had when she was alive, silly." Dawn said as if the answer was obvious.

"E-excuse me?" Misty said, becoming a little more unsettled.

"You do know that all Yamask are the spirits of people who were alive in ancient times, right?" Dawn explained.

"Well yeah, but I don't think that's ever been proven." Misty pointed out. "Besides… how do you know what that Yamask was called if she was ever alive?"

"She told me of course." Dawn answered. "I can understand everything that Helen says. She's told me so many stories about when she was alive. Apparently she was the most beautiful woman in her village. Men from all over the ancient kingdom of Unova fought over her. But one day the man Helen loved died while fighting for her, and she was so heart broken she killed herself, so sad."

"…Dawn, are you okay?" Misty asked as she started to wonder of Dawn was insane.

"Of course I am." Dawn answered. "Why do you ask?"

"No… no reason I guess." Misty replied. "Look, the reason I came to find you is because a storm is coming and we need to get to town before it hits."

"Oh, well it doesn't look like we'll be able to get to the next city before the storm comes." Dawn told her. "I mean look at the sky."

Misty did indeed look up at the sky as Dawn suggested. It had grown darker and thicker with clouds.

"I guess you're right." Misty said as she looked back at Dawn. "Now what'll we do?"

"I know! We could take shelter in the Old Chateau." Dawn enthusiastically suggested.

"The Old Chateau?" Misty asked.

"Uh huh, it's this wonderful big old house here in the forest." Dawn explained. "We could take shelter there."

"Well, it sounds better than nothing." Misty agreed. "Let's get back to the others and tell them."

"Uh, you go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute" Dawn told her.

"Okay, but be quick." Misty told her as she turned to leave. As Misty started walking, Helen spoke something to Dawn in the language of her species.

"Oh, Helen says you don't have to worry about running into any Bug Pokemon." Dawn called to Misty, causing her to freeze. "They've already taken shelter in the trees from the storm. Also, Helen says that she understands why you'd be afraid of her. She knows that a lot of people are scared of ghosts."

A chill ran down Misty's spine. She did say to Helen that she was afraid of Bug Pokemon, and that she was a little afraid of Ghost Pokemon as well. But Misty brushed it off and continued on. All the way through the forest Misty kept thinking about her odd little conversation with Dawn. She kept telling herself that there was some logical explanation of how Dawn knew what she had said to Helen, not that Misty could think of one. Still, the whole incident made Misty wonder if Dawn was imbalanced in some way.

Eventually, Misty rejoined Ash and the others. Ash noticed the somewhat frightened expression of Misty's face when she arrived.

"You okay Misty?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Misty assured him. "And I found Dawn. She should be here soon."

"Well we've all been talking, and it doesn't look like we'll make it out of the forest before the storm hits." Ash told her.

"Dawn said something about an old house here in the forest." Misty recalled.

"You mean the Old Chateau?" Bolt asked. At the very moment he did, Dawn showed up.

"Have you heard of it Bolt?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, and I know where it is too." Bolt answered. "But the stories say it's haunted."

"…Haunted?" Lisa repeated as the color suddenly drained from her face.

"Just the usual kind of ghost stories." Bolt replied. "But most people stay away from the place."

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice." Ash pointed out. "Lead the way Bolt."

Everyone quickly gathered their things and followed Bolt as he led the way to the Old Chateau. Just as they started to leave, Misty took a good look at Dawn, she noticed that the odd look in Dawn's eyes had gone.

"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked.

"…No, it's nothing." Misty answered after a moment, and with that they began to catch up to the others.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for such a long first chapter. It ended up taking longer than I thought to set things up. One major difference in this little AU of mine is that this is the first time Ash had ever met Dawn. As for the Yamask, Helen, that was one of the first ideas I had for this story. Her "nickname" ended up being borrowed from Helen of Troy. I know, not very Egyptian, but Isis has been used to death and I could think of any other Egyptian names. Anyway, things should start to get a little scarier in the next chapter.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	2. The Old Chateau

**Author's Note:** This is where things start to get creepier. One thing I forgot to mention in the intro that the title of this story is a bit of a pun. Though maybe a few of you have figured that out by now.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Old Chateau

Ash and the others continued to quickly follow Bolt through the woods as the sky overhead became darker and darker with thick clouds. Before long they came before a tall stone brick wall that was chipped and covered in moss and vines. In the middle of this wall was a large rusty iron-barred gate. The gate was not only open, but part of it was completely off its hinges. Bolt led the group through the broken gate.

Upon passing through the gate, the group found themselves standing in a large courtyard with an old stone path leading around a large fountain in the center up to a massive two-story mansion with an east and west wing. The fountain of course was not running, and depicted a statue of a Water Pokemone, a Gyarados, that would have been beautiful to behold when it was new and in use, but had since become broken and chipped with age. The grass of the courtyard had grown wild and out of control, and in a few places there were statues of both humans and Pokemon that were in the same sort of condition of the fountain. The mansion itself was covered with vines and had broken glass in a few of the windows. Before long, Ash and the others were standing before the large wooden doors of the mansion.

"So this is the Old Chateau, huh?" Ash observed.

"This is the place." Bolt confirmed. "You wouldn't believe some of the stories that I've heard."

"What, what kind of stories?" Lisa asked in a somewhat frightened tone.

"Oh you know, just the usual haunted house kind of stories." Bolt answered. "Ghosts walkin' the halls, lights moving around behind the windows, that kind of thing. Why, you aren't scared, are you Lisa?"

"Scared? No, of course not!" Lisa denied frantically. "Why would I be scared of something so stupid?"

The rest of the group all gave Lisa skeptical looks, all except for Marie that is, who looked at Lisa with concern. Lisa meanwhile was doing her best to keep her composure.

"Well haunted or not, this is the only place around to take shelter from the storm." Ash pointed out. "So let's go in."

With that, Ash and Bolt pulled open the large wooden doors of the Old Chateau. The smell of dust, mold, and age hit everyone like a wave. Bolt went inside first, followed closely by Dawn, Piplup, and Misty. Pikachu and Lucario went ahead in while Ash stayed behind a moment with Lisa, Marie, and Zoroark.

"You sure you're okay for this Lisa?" Ash asked.

"Of course I am." Lisa insisted. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"…Well in experience, nine times outta ten the stuff that happens in haunted places are just the work of Ghost Pokemon playing around." Ash told her, and with that he went inside.

"Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Lisa whispered sarcastically to herself.

"Lisa, I'm sure there's noting to be afraid of." Marie tried to assure her. "This storm probably won't last long anyway."

"I hope so." Lisa admitted. "Just stay close to me though, okay?"

"Okay." Marie said as she took Lisa's hand.

Within moments, Lisa, Marie, and Zoroark went into the mansion. Ash and Bolt closed the wooden doors behind them once they were in. The large main hall of the mansion, which was probably beautiful in its time, was dark and covered in cobwebs. The only source of light was the front windows. It seemed less like a mansion and more like a tomb. Piplup started to act a little more frightened inside the mansion, while Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark seemed more on edge. Lisa held onto Marie's hand tighter than before.

"You know it's probably going to get pretty dark in here once night comes." Dawn observed.

"It'll be darker sooner than that once that storm hits." Ash pointed out.

"No sweat dude, I got an electric lantern here in my bag." Bolt said as he held up the black duffle bag he was carrying in addition to his guitar.

"We might need a little more light than that." Ash told him. "Especially if that lantern of yours goes dead."

"We could search the house for candles." Dawn suggested. "I'm sure there are a few lying around."

"That's a pretty good idea." Ash agreed. "Plus we could explore the house. I mean it is creepy, but still kinda interesting."

"Sounds good to me." Dawn agreed.

"Hey, I'm up for rummaging through the past." Bolt concurred. "Let's do it!"

"What do you think Misty?" Ash asked.

"Well… sure, why not?" Misty said hesitantly.

"Great! We'll split up and start looking around then." Ash decided.

"Um, you guys go ahead. Lisa and I will stay down here." Marie told them.

"Okay then, we'll be back in a bit." Ash replied.

* * *

Several minutes had passed since Ash, Misty, Bolt, and Dawn began searching the Old Chateau. Already the storm outside had begun, the sound of the wind and rain whipping against the house could be heard from inside. Every now and then was a crack of thunder, and the flashes of lightning could be seen through the windows. Misty wandered down a hallway in the west wing of the mansion, when suddenly she heard the sound of whispering voices. She walked a little further down the hall to find that a door near the end was open a crack. Quietly and hesitantly, Misty approached the door to hear the voices better.

"How long… waiting?" the first voice whispered. Misty could recognize that the first voice was Dawn's.

"Don't know." Whispered the second voice that Misty did not recognize. Though Misty could tell that it was the voice of a little girl. "But I'm sure… come back."

"Ya Yamask Ya Ya Yamask." Said a third high feminine sounding voice, and right away Misty knew just what that voice belonged to.

"Helen's right." Dawn whispered, presumably to the little girl. "They might… for you… somewhere else."

At this moment Misty decided to peek in through the door, opening it slightly wider. Sure enough there was Dawn, kneeling down close to talk to a little girl with curly brown hair wearing an old style pink dress and a pink bow on the top of her head. The little girl's skin looked as white as a sheet. Floating next to Dawn's head was her Yamask, Helen. Suddenly the girl turned her head and saw Misty peeking through the door. Dawn quickly noticed that the girl was looking at Misty and then beamed Misty a warm smile. Misty could see that Dawn had the same crazed looking eyes she had earlier that day.

"Hey Misty, come check this out!" Ash called from a room down the hall.

"Be right there!" Misty called back as she quickly headed away from the unsettling site before her.

Moments later, Misty joined Ash and Bolt in what looked to be an old bedroom. Bolt was busy looking through what looked to be an old photo album while Ash was looking through an old shoebox full of knickknacks. It was not long before Ash noticed Misty's arrival.

"You okay Misty?" Ash asked, noticing the somewhat frightened expression on Misty's face. "You look a little spooked."

"I'm fine." Misty assured him as she managed to bring a smile to her face. "So what is it you wanted me to see?"

"Check out the corner over there." Ash said, pointing his thumb towards a small table in the back corner of the room.

Misty went over and saw on the top of the table a display of several Pokemon figures. Each one was wearing a decorative kimono.

"Oh wow! An old set of Pokemon Princess Dolls!" Misty said with a look of awe.

"I thought you might like seeing those." Ash assumed.

"I've never seen a set like this before." Misty said as she carefully picked up one of the dolls to examine it closer. "And they're all in such good condition."

"What's in good condition?" a voice suddenly asked, startling Misty and almost causing her to drop the doll she was holding. Misty turned to see that it was Dawn.

"I found a set of Pokemon Princess Dolls over there." Ash explained.

"Wow, I've never seen a real set of those before." Dawn said as she went over to where Misty was. "What amazing detail!"

Misty tried to take a good look at Dawn's eyes in the dim light of the room. Though it was hard to tell, Dawn's eyes seemed to look normal. Still, there was a question that was burning in Misty's mind that she was afraid to ask, though she felt she needed to know the answer.

"Um, Dawn? Who was that girl you were taking to?" Misty hesitantly asked.

"Girl? What girl?" Dawn asked with a quizzical expression.

"That little girl in the room back there." Misty explained. "Was she lost, or just some girl who likes to play here?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Dawn told her.

"Hey, if you ladies like cute, and I know you probably do, check out this picture." Bolt interrupted as he handed Misty the open photo album he was looking at and pointed to a certain picture.

Misty went pale when she saw the picture and almost dropped the photo album. The picture that Bolt showed her was very old, perhaps over fifty years. Yet it showed _the very same little girl that Dawn had been talking to earlier._

"Hey, you okay Misty?" Dawn asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Before Misty could respond in any way, a scream was heard from downstairs. Ash and the others quickly rushed out of the room to see what was wrong. When they finally got downstairs to the main hall, they saw a frightened looking Lisa standing behind Marie and Zoroark.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"Nothing, Lisa was started by a wild Ghastly." Marie informed him. "Zoroark managed to scare it off. Sorry to worry you."

"Did… did you find candles?" Lisa asked as she regained her composure.

"We found a whole box upstairs that looked like they haven't been used." Bolt told her. "Plus a few kerosene lanterns that might have some juice left in 'em."

"Bolt, why don't you go back up and get the candles and the lanterns?" Ash suggested. "When you get back we should probably have dinner."

"Check, be back in a flash." Bolt said as he headed back upstairs.

"You know what? In might be fun to have dinner in that big dinning room I saw down here earlier." Dawn suggested. "Especially with those candles lit."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea." Ash agreed. "What do you think Misty?"

"Um, sure. Sounds good." Misty agreed, though the dinning arrangements were far from her mind.

* * *

A few minutes later, the whole gang was sitting at the long dinning room table eating a simple meal that Marie had prepared. The light of a few candles dimly lighted the room. And the once white tablecloth spread over the long table had yellowed with age and been filled with holes. The raging storm outside and combined with the age of the whole room somewhat shattered the intimate atmosphere of the room. There had been little conversation during the meal, and both Misty and Lisa seemed to have very little appetite.

"So…" Dawn began in an attempt to start a conversation. "Could you imagine what it would've been like to have dinner in a room like this every evening?"

"You mean without all the creepy?" Bolt asked.

"Well yeah, obviously." Dawn told him.

"A couple of us don't have to imagine." Bolt replied. "Bolt Lisa and Marie are loaded, so I'm sure this isn't new to them."

"You two are rich?" Dawn asked Lisa and Marie.

"My family owns a successful company in Hoenn that makes technology for deep sea exploration. And Lisa's father runs it." Marie explained. "But for the record, Lisa has spent much of her time traveling the world as a trainer and has rarely gone home. And as for me… let's just say I've lived a hard life up until now."

"What do you mean by that?" Dawn asked.

"It's a long story that'd I'd prefer not to get into." Marie told her.

"…What do you think happened to the people who used to live here?" Misty suddenly asked after a brief pause.

"Oh, well there have been a few stories about that." Bolt told her. "It's part of the whole ghost story thing. But the gist of it is that there was this family that one day just up and disappeared."

"There's more to it than that." Dawn suddenly cut in. "From one story I heard, they say that the family that lived here was murdered."

There was another pause after Dawn's little correction. At that particular moment lightning flashed outside the window with a loud crash of thunder.

"What… what happened to them?" Lisa asked with a tone of fear in her voice.

"Well, from the story I heard, this house used to belong to a rich couple and their little girl." Dawn began. "One day the couple went on a trip and left their daughter in the care of the butler. But the butler killed the little girl, and they say he cut up her body and burned it in the furnace. They say the butler did it to get his hands on the family fortune. Then when the couple came back, the butler killed them and got rid of their bodies the same way he got rid of the little girl's."

"…Did they ever catch the butler for what he did?" Misty asked.

"In the story I heard, because the police never found the bodies they assumed that the whole family just disappeared." Dawn continued. "But the rest of the story says that the butler was haunted by the ghost of the little girl. In the end he became so wracked with guilt that he hung himself. Now to this day it's said that the ghosts of both the little girl and the butler can be seen walking the halls of this very house."

There was another pause with the end of Dawn's story. In that moment there was another big flash of lightning outside accompanied by another equally loud crash of thunder.

"But, it's only a story." Dawn pointed out with a smile.

"Well, it doesn't look like that storm is going to let up anytime soon." Ash observed. "Looks like we're stuck here for the night. Why don't we go out to the main hall for a bit?"

"Sounds good to me." Misty concurred. The rest of the group nodded in agreement and got up from the table.

As Misty was following the others out of the room, she glanced back behind her as the lightning flashed yet again. When the lightning flashed, Misty thought she briefly saw a tall and very slender old man with sheet white skin wearing a butler's uniform. Misty tried to brush the image off as a trick of the light and quickly went to catch up with the others.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So the version of the Old Chateau in this story is closer to the version that appears in the games rather than the anime. I've never played Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum, but I have read about the Old Chateau a few times and know about the "ghosts" that dwell there. I ended up making a little story about what caused those ghosts to haunt the house. But I should point out that not everything in this story is as it seems.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. One Wild Night

**Author's Note:** As I said in the summery, some of the events in this chapter are the reason for this story's M rating. No blood, just some steamy content. There's not very much of it though.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 3: One Wild Night

The storm outside of the Old Chateau continued to rage without any signs of letting up in the near future. The hour had grown late, and Ash and the others had gathered out in the main hall of the mansion. The six humans and four Pokemon were sitting around Bolt's electric lantern as Bolt regaled them with stories from the most recent tour of his band. Though Misty and Lisa were both too on edge to concentrate on the story, Marie and Dawn listened with bored expressions, and Piplup and Zoroark had fallen asleep. The only ones who actually seemed to be paying attention were Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to try and find a ladies' room in this house that actually works." Dawn interrupted as she suddenly got to her feet.

"But you'll miss hearing about the funniest thing that happened to me and the guys in Slateport." Bolt told her.

"How will I ever survive?" Dawn said sarcastically as she walked off.

"Um, I think I'll go stretch my legs." Misty said as she got up.

"You want me to go with you?" Ash asked.

"No, that's fine." Misty told him. "I won't be going too far."

"Okay, but be careful." Ash replied. "I mean it is an old house."

"I'll be back before you know it." Misty said with a smile before walking off, taking a lit lamp with her.

Moments later, Misty had come to the second floor of the mansion. Suddenly as she walked down the hallway, the flame of her lamp went out. Just as Misty was about to fumble through the darkness back downstairs, she heard a noise that sounded like static. Misty followed the sound and found that it was coming from a room with a door that was open a crack. She opened the door a little wider and found that the room contained a very old television set that was somehow on and producing static.

Misty could not figure out how the set could be functioning, as it was old and the mansion had most likely had not been receiving power for years. Against her better judgment, Misty went inside the room to turn the television off. Slowly she walked towards the set, and just as she reached to turn the knob, a light suddenly shot out of the screen. The television set had gone dark, and floating before Misty was a small creature that resembled a sort of red lightning rod. It had large odd-looking eyes and a smiling mouth. Around its body crackled a blue electrical aura that formed at its sides lightning bolt-shaped blades.

"What is that thing?" Misty asked herself.

"It's a Rotom." A voice from behind answered, startling Misty. Misty turned around to see Dawn standing behind her, and in the light being produced by Rotom Misty could see that Dawn's eyes had that crazed look she had seen earlier. "I knew there was one here, I just didn't know where it was hiding."

Rotom began floating towards Misty and Dawn, crackling electrical energy as it did so. Dawn stepped out from behind Misty and stood before the energy being.

"It's time to play Helen!" Dawn called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Helen the Yamask emerged from the ball and floated before Rotom. Rotom fired off a bolt of electricity at Helen, which she quickly blocked by using her death mask as a shield.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Dawn commanded.

With her right arm, Helen threw a black sphere that was crackling with purple energy. The ball hit Rotom, knocking it back a few feet in the air.

"Now, go Pokeball!" Dawn called as she threw another Pokeball.

The ball hit the still floating Rotom and sucked it in. With Rotom inside the ball, the room became pitch black. After a moment, Misty heard the sound a Pokeball made when it completed a capture, and then silence. Misty did not know where Dawn and Helen were, if they were even still in the room. She did not even hear the sound of Dawn's footsteps.

"Hello?" Misty nervously called. "Are you still there…? Hello?"

"Misty?" a voice suddenly said, startling Misty so bad that she let out a scream. In that same instant Misty turned to see Ash illuminated by the light of Bolt's electric lantern, which he was holding up in his right hand. "Whoa, relax, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little jumpy." Misty said with a sigh of relief.

"The others are waiting out in the hall." Ash said as he took Misty's hand. "C'mon."

Ash led Misty out of the room into the hallway. Just as Ash had said the rest of the group had gathered outside the door, including Dawn. Misty noticed that the crazed look in Dawn's eyes had once again disappeared.

"So, did you all come up here looking for me?" Misty asked.

"Partly, but we were talking downstairs and were thinking of trying to sleep in some of the old rooms in this house." Ash explained. "In fact there are four pretty nice rooms down the hall here. What do you think?"

"Well… it might not be such a bad idea." Misty agreed after a moment.

"I'm still not sure about this." Lisa admitted. "I mean there are Ghost Pokemon living in this mansion."

"Zoroark could stay out in the hall and stand guard." Marie suggested.

"Pikachu and Lucario could do the same thing." Ash added.

"…Okay, I guess that could work." Lisa finally agreed.

"Good, then let's turn in. It's getting late." Ash suggested.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Ash and Misty went down the hall, with Lisa and Marie following behind. Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark followed soon after.

"Hey you know Dawn, if you're too scared to sleep alone you could always stay with me in my room." Bolt suggested in a suave manner.

"In your dreams Hanson." Dawn said as she walked down the hall with Piplup waddling at her side.

* * *

Moments later the group had split up into the separate rooms of the house while Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark had stationed themselves at the very end of the hall to keep watch. Lisa and Marie had taken a large room near the end of the hallway, while Bolt had taken up the room next to theirs. Ash and Misty took the room besides Bolt's and Dawn's room was right across the hall from Bolt. Inside Lisa and Marie's room, Marie was at the large wooden dresser lighting candles, while Lisa was standing nervously before the bed. Lisa jumped a bit each time the lightning outside flashed.

"There now, I think that should do for the night." Marie said as she finished lighting the candles. "You know this would really be a lovely room if it weren't from all the dust and cobwebs."

Lisa did not respond to Marie's comment. Marie could tell that Lisa was lost in her own world.

"You okay Lisa?" Marie asked as she gently touched Lisa's shoulder. A startled Lisa let out a small scream. "It's okay, relax."

"Sorry, the storm's got me a little jumpy I guess." Lisa sighed. Marie stood before Lisa with crossed arms. "What? Why are you giving me that look?"

"You don't have to put on an act with me you know." Marie told her. "I know this house is bothering you."

"Is it that obvious?" Lisa said with a look of embarrassment on her face.

"Hey, you're not the first person in the world to be afraid of ghosts." Marie pointed out. "Or Ghost Pokemon for that matter."

"You think I would've gotten over it by now." Lisa sighed as she sat down on the end of the bed.

"Gotten over what?" Marie asked.

"…When I was three, my dad took me with him to Mount Pyre." Lisa began. "He went there to attend the funeral of a friend's Pokemon. During the funeral I wandered off and got lost. While I was trying to find my way back I ran into a swarm of Duskull…. They kept flying around me and bumping into me. And I kept crying and screaming, wanting them to just leave me alone... I don't know how long it was before my dad finally found me and chased off those Duskull, but it seemed like forever. I don't think I slept for a week after that… and ever since that time I've been terrified of ghosts."

After hearing Lisa's tale, Marie got down on her knees and gave Lisa a hug. Lisa hugged Marie back and started crying a little. It was a few minutes before Lisa calmed down.

"Anyone would be afraid of ghosts after having an experience like that at such a young age." Marie told Lisa. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

"I guess…" Lisa relented. "Still, I don't know how I'm going to get any sleep in this house tonight. I can't get my mind off what might be lurking in this house."

"Hmm… I may have an idea." Marie said as a playful smirk came to her face. She suddenly unzipped the black sleeveless jacket she was wearing to reveal that she was not wearing a shirt of bra underneath. Lisa's attention was suddenly focused on Marie. "Now, let's see if I can't do anything to put your mind on something else."

* * *

At the same time, Misty was sitting nervously on the bed as Ash finished lighting the candles. She had already removed her jacket while Ash had taken off his vest.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you now?" Ash asked.

"I guess I can't hide it very well, huh?" Misty admitted.

"Not from me." Ash said as he sat down on the bed next to Misty. "So is it the house?"

"…The house is part of, but…" Misty began. "What's really got me freaked out is Dawn."

"Dawn?" Ash repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you scared of her?"

"I've been alone with her a few times now." Misty revealed. "And during those times she's said and done things have scared me a bit. Like when I went to go find her in the woods, she had out a Yamask she called Helen."

"What's so bad about that?" Ash asked.

"Dawn said she could understand what her Yamask says, that her Yamask told her stories from when she was… human." Misty explained. "And the weird thing is… I sort of believe her. And there were other things too. Like when we were exploring the house I saw Dawn talking to a little girl, and when I saw her a bit later she acted as if she didn't know what I was talking about…. And the scary part is… the girl Dawn was talking to looked exactly like a girl in the photo album Bolt showed me earlier."

"Well maybe that girl talking to Dawn was a relative of the people who used to live here." Ash theorized.

"Maybe, but why would Dawn say she didn't know anything about her?" Misty pointed out. "And there's one other thing, all those times I saw Dawn alone she had this weird look in her eyes. I think that's what scares me the most."

"Look, tomorrow morning we'll talk to Dawn and ask her to give us a straight answer." Ash suggested. "Sound good?"

"That'll work." Misty agreed.

Ash and Misty kissed after that, and it ended up being a long kiss. When they broke for air, Misty suddenly removed her shirt, revealing her powder-blue bra.

"Uh, Misty?" A surprised Ash spoke. "Do you really want to do this here?"

"I… need to feel close to you right now." Misty said as a blush came to her face. "And besides… it's been awhile."

Ash smiled and then planted another firm kiss on Misty's lips. It was not long before the two of them toppled down onto the bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bolt was having a difficult time getting to sleep. Not because he was frightened of any ghosts that might be potentially haunting the house, but because the walls of the house were thin and Bolt could hear what was going on in the rooms of Lisa and Marie and Ash and Misty. Bolt was on his side on the bed attempting to use his pillow to block out the sound of the moans.

"Dammit! Why am I the only who's single?" Bolt quietly lamented. "I mean sure I've got a lot of groupies out there, but it's not like any of them are with me."

"Oh Bolt." A sweet voice called, causing Bolt to sit up.

Bolt saw Dawn in the room wearing a white robe. He suddenly noticed something odd about Dawn's eyes. They seemed a lighter color than they normally were, and there was a sort of crazed look about them that Bolt had felt he had seen before but could not quite place.

"Uh, hey Dawn." A somewhat surprised Bolt greeted. "What brings you here?"

"You seemed lonely, so I thought I'd come over to play." Dawn replied with a smile.

Suddenly Dawn undid her robe and let it drop carelessly to the ground, revealing that she was completely naked underneath. Bolt tied to open his mouth to say something but found that he couldn't as Dawn walked over to the bed. Dawn gently pushed a compliant Bolt onto the bed and unzipped his pants. Bolt's hardened rod was soon freed. Dawn then got on top of Bolt, letting the rod slide into her. Dawn's movements were slow at first, as if she was getting used to the feeling.

Bolt found that he was mesmerized by the expression on Dawn's face; she looked as if she was at the height of ecstasy. Steadily Dawn's pace increased, going faster and faster a little at a time as she rode Bolt. Bolt could not take his eyes of Dawn's expression, or the bouncing of her breasts. Eventually after a few minutes the two of them climaxed, and after they did Bolt found that he felt very sleepy.

* * *

The next morning Bolt awoke with a headache. The light of the morning sun was shining though the window of his room, making his head hurt even worse. Bolt quickly put on his sunglasses to block out the light. It did not take long for Bolt to recall what had happened the night before, yet when he woke up he found that Dawn was not in the room. Though he was certain that he did not dream the encounter. Bolt grabbed his guitar and headed downstairs.

Moments later Bolt found Ash, Misty, Lisa, and Marie in the dining hall of the mansion. Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark had gathered there as well. Yet when Bolt looked for Dawn he found that she was not there.

"Hey, you guys seen Dawn?" Bolt asked the group.

"I don't think she's up yet." Ash told him. "But when she does get up, Misty and I need to have a little talk with her."

"Talk with me about what?" Dawn asked as she entered the room with Piplup.

"Hey babe, I wanna thank you for last night." Bolt said to Dawn in a suave manner.

"Last night?" Dawn repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"You really rocked my world." Bolt continued as he approached Dawn. "I don't know what got into you, but I liked it."

"I have no clue what you're talking about?" Dawn told him as she backed away a bit.

"Hey, you don't have to pretend babe." Bolt said, as he got closer. "It's okay if our friends know."

Bolt then planted a kiss on Dawn's lips. Surprised and shocked, Dawn pushed Bolt away and slapped him hard on the face.

"I don't know what kind of sick delusion you had last night, but touch me like that again and I'll shove that guitar so far up your ass you'll have to open your mouth to tune it!" Dawn threatened.

With that, Dawn stormed out of the room with her hands balled in fists. Piplup quickly followed as fast as its little feet could carry it. Bolt was left rubbing his cheek in confusion. Meanwhile, another chill ran down Misty's spine.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, I've pretty much implied that there's something not right going on (or have just driven that implication into the ground). I also ended up developing Lisa's character a bit more. Now that the whole cast knows that there's something really odd going on, the fun can really begin. And keep in mind, not everything is as it seems.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. There's Something About Dawn

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon

* * *

Chapter 4: There's Something About Dawn

Ash and his friends were confused by what had just transpired before them, especially Bolt. Bolt had claimed that the night before Dawn had come into his room and essentially rocked his world. Yet when Bolt had made advances on Dawn just moments ago, Dawn had reacted by slapping him storming out of the room. The whole incident was quite perplexing to Bolt, and very unsettling to Misty. It seemed to reinforce that there was something very wrong with Dawn.

"Bolt, are you sure you didn't just dream what happened last night with Dawn?" Ash suggested.

"Hey man, I couldn't get to sleep with all the noise you guys were making last night." Bolt told him. Bolt's response caused the other four to blush.

"Y-you mean you could hear us?" a flustered and slightly enraged sounding Lisa asked as she stood from her chair.

"It's not like I wanted to you know! The walls of this shack are paper thin." Bolt pointed out. "I didn't fall asleep until Dawn rode me into the ground. After that I blacked out for some reason."

"Bolt… what were Dawn's eyes like when she… came to you?" Misty asked.

"…Now that you mention it, they looked kinda… well, crazy I guess." Bolt answered. "I mean looking back, I did notice when Dawn came into my room. But I got, um, distracted."

"By the rest of her you mean?" Marie assumed.

"What is this all about?" Lisa demanded to know.

"Last night, Misty told me that she's seen Dawn acting strange." Ash explained.

"In what way?" Marie asked.

"Well, it's like she's two different people." Misty explained. "One minute she's the kind Dawn we all know, and the next she's this weird and creepy girl."

"So… you're saying that Dawn's insane?" Lisa asked.

"I'm not sure what I'm saying." Misty told her.

"Hey Bolt, you know something about this?" Ash asked after noticing that Bolt seemed deep in thought.

"Huh? Well…" Bolt began. "Nah, it's nothing. Forget it man."

"Alright, well assuming that what Bolt and Misty have said is true, I think we should confront Dawn about this." Marie suggested.

"I agree." Lisa cut in. "If Dawn really is crazy, who knows what she might try next?"

"Then let's go find her." Ash decided. "Lisa, Marie, you two look in the east wing of the house. Misty and I will look for her in the west wing, and Bolt, you try looking for Dawn outside."

"Check." Bolt replied, and with that the group split up to look for Dawn.

* * *

A few minutes later, Lisa, Marie, and Zoroark had entered the library of the Old Chateau. It was a large room with many dusty shelves full of moldy books.

"How many rooms have we searched now?" a frustrated Lisa asked.

"I think we've almost covered the whole wing." Marie told her. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, this place isn't quite as scary during the day." Lisa sighed. "Still the sooner we leave this place, the better."

"We should be almost done." Marie assured her. "Why don't you take a break here and rest while Zoroark and I finish searching the library?"

"Okay, but don't take too long." Lisa told her.

Marie gave Lisa a quick kiss before she and Zoroark went down one of the alleys of shelves. Lisa leaned back against one of the shelves and crossed her arms with a sigh. She glanced around and noticed on a far shelf an old book that she had read once before. Lisa went over to that shelf and began to pull out that book. But as soon as she did the floor beneath her started to move and rotate. Suddnely Lisa found herself in another room.

It was a fairly small room lit by the light of a single window. The floor and a few tables against the walls were littered with old Pokemon Dolls that were covered in dust and cobwebs and had stuffing protruding in places. In one corner of the room was a small table and chairs, and atop the table was and old tea set.

"Well hello there, Lisa." A voice said from the darkness. Dawn soon emerged from a dark corner of the room into the light of the window. Lisa noticed the crazed look in Dawn's eyes. "I see you found the secret door in the library. This place is full of all sorts of fun secret passages."

"What is this place?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, well this is the secret play room of the little girl who used to live here." Dawn explained. "She used to come here a lot before she died. In fact… she still does now and then."

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm getting out of here." Lisa told Dawn before turning back to the bookcase.

"But you can't leave yet." Dawn said to her. "The spirits don't want us to go."

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing Dawn, but it's not funny!" Lisa said in an angry and frightened tone.

"How old were you again when that swarm of Duskull attacked you?" Dawn suddenly asked, causing Lisa to freeze.

"H-how do you know about that?" a frightened Lisa asked as she slowly turned around. "I've only ever told one person about that!"

"You must've been a bad little girl." Dawn continued. "Duskull only go after children who're bad you know. They just don't like seeing kids misbehave."

"Just who are you anyway?" Lisa demanded.

"Let's play… Duskull!" Dawn called as she threw out a Pokeball.

From Dawn's thrown ball came a small floating creature shrouded in black cloth. Over its face it had a white mask resembling a skull. Lisa began to tremble upon seeing the Pokemon that had caused her childhood trauma. Suddenly Duskull's body began to glow with a white light. It floated down to the ground and began to change in shape and size. When the cleared Duskull had become a creature that seemed to be wrapped almost completely in grey bandages. It stood on a pair of stump-like legs and had gained hands on the front of its body. Hanging from its back were long grey flaps that resembled the ears of a rabbit, and it had a large eye with a red pupil.

"Oh how wonderful! Duskull just evolved into Dusclops!" Dawn said with a sort of insane glee. Lisa was terrified of the Pokemon before her. Though she feared Duskull, she feared its evolved form even more. "Now, are we going to play?"

"Go… Entei!" Lisa called out after managing to throw out a Pokeball.

Roaring from Lisa's thrown ball was a large brown creature reminiscent of a lion with a cream-colored underside. It had white paws and a pair of spiked grey plates on its back. Between those plates was something like a cape that looked like billowing grey smoke. The creature had an almost mask-like face with a three-pointed yellow plate on its forehead, red plates on the sides, and a white mustache-like plate on the front of its snout.

"How did you get a Pokemon like that?" Dawn said sounding impressed.

"Entei… attack, attack with…" Lisa began to command with fear in her voice.

"Confuse Ray." Dawn commanded, interrupting Lisa.

Dusclops fired a ball of red light from its eye that hit Entei in the face. The beast of fire suddenly began to stagger as if it had trouble standing.

"Oh no, Entei!" Lisa cried.

"Now use Shadow Punch!" Dawn commanded with glee.

From Dusclops's hands extended a pair of grey shadowy fists. The first one hit Entei in the jaw, while second hit it in the cheek. The ghostly fists kept hitting Entei in the face over and over.

"Aren't you going to do something Lisa?" Dawn asked. "As powerful as Entei is, it needs your help."

Lisa wanted to help Entei, but she was too frightened to move or speak. She kept standing there as Dusclops kept launching its shadowy fists at Entei. Dawn suddenly began to laugh as Entei continued to be hit over and over.

"Stop... Stop it!" Lisa cried out. "STOP!"

Suddenly Entei snapped out of its daze and roared as it breathed out a tidal wave of flames at Dusclpos. The ghostly entity fell to its side unconscious.

"Aw, too bad." Dawn said as she called Dusclops back. "And Dusclops almost had Entei there. Oh well, our battle is just getting started. Let's play Helen!"

The Yamask, Helen, emerged from Dawn's thrown ball. Suddenly a spot in the wall behind Lisa exploded, and through the large hole that had formed was a growling Zoroark.

"What the hell is going on here?" Marie said in a low angry tone as she walked in behind Zoroark. "What are you doing to Lisa?"

"Oh, hello Marie." Dawn greeted with a cheerful smile. "Lisa and I were just playing. You're welcome to join us."

"I'm in no mood for games." Marie told Dawn as she stood next to Lisa. "Now just what are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything." Dawn said innocently.

"Whatever, Lisa and I are leaving." Marie scoffed.

"But you can't leave yet." Dawn told her. "The spirits don't want anyone to go yet. And I'm having way too much fun."

"You think you can scare me you pathetic girl?" Marie said with a dark smile. "I've lived through hell, so I'm not one who's easily frightened. Let's see how you endure hell? Go Darkrai!"

Emerging from Marie's thrown ball was a floating black shadowy creature with an hourglass figure. Atop its head it had white hair that resembled a billowing flame and covered one of its light-blue eyes. Around its neck was a red growth that looked like a necklace of large beads.

"Wow, where did you get that Pokemon?" Dawn asked sounding impressed.

"Darkrai, attack that Yamask with Dark Pulse!" Marie commanded.

Darkrai raised its arms forward and fired off a blast of black energy rings at Helen. Helen was hit by the attack and fell to the ground out cold. Dawn quickly called back Yamask and ducked back into the shadows of the room. Marie and Darkrai quickly went over to the other side of the room to find that Dawn had somehow vanished.

"Where did she go?" Marie asked, but before she could figure out an answer she heard the sound of Lisa falling to her knees. "Lisa!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Marie had guided Lisa out of the Old Chateau with Entei, Darkrai, and Zoroark following close behind. The five of them exited through the rusted iron gates of the courtyard and went to a nearby tree to rest.

"Are you okay?" Marie asked Lisa.

"I'm better now that I'm out of that house." Lisa told her on the verge of tears. "I… don't think I can go back in there."

"It's okay, you've done enough." Marie said with a gentle smile.

"You must think I'm pretty weak, huh?" Lisa assumed. "All I did was stand there while Dawn's Dusclops pounded Entei. And in the end you had to come and save me."

"I don't think you're weak at all." Marie assured her. "You're the strongest person I know, and you must've beaten that Dusclops in the end because I didn't see one. I don't think any less of you Lisa."

Lisa then fell to her knees sobbing and Marie pulled her in close. As Marie comforted Lisa, her thoughts momentarily turned back to the house. She knew that Ash and the others were still in there with Dawn. And it seemed all too clear that Dawn was a very dangerous person.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That probably wasn't the best battle I've written, but I wanted something that was kind of quick. You never will believe how this story is going to end, but we've still got a little ways to go. Dawn still hasn't had her fun with Ash, Misty, and Bolt yet.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Secrets of the Chateau

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally going to be two chapters, but after rethinking a few parts I decided to merge them. Plus I couldn't wait to do this little twist that's coming. Oh you never will believe how this chapter is going to end.

**Author's Note:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Secrets of the Chateau

Something kept nagging at Bolt as he searched outside the Chateau for Dawn. He kept thinking about how Misty said Dawn had acted those few times when they were alone together, and about the strange look in Dawn's eyes when she came into his room the night before. Bolt had known Dawn for quite sometime, and he couldn't believe that Dawn could be capable of the mischief she had been accused off, but another possibility had occurred to Bolt. Yet it was a possibility that Bolt did not believe was possible, or rather hoped that it wasn't possible. But with the evidence that was before him, Bolt could not deny that the frightening possibility that had occurred to him had to be the truth.

As Bolt headed deeper into the vast backyard of the Old Chateau past the unkempt bushes and hedges and broken statues, he spied in the distance an old wooden shed. With no other area left to search, Bolt headed for the shed hoping to find Dawn, and at the same time fearing that he might find something else. As he approached the shed, Bolt could hear the sound of someone humming an odd and somewhat creepy sounding tune. It sounded like Dawn's voice, but in the back of his mind he wondered if he was truly hearing what he thought he was. Upon venturing behind the shed, Bolt found Dawn sitting against the wall, the same crazed look for before was once again in Dawn's eyes.

"Uh, Dawn?" Bolt called in a cautious tone.

"Oh, hello Bolt darling." Dawn said with an eerie smile upon noticing Bolt's arrival.

"…How ya doin'?" Bolt asked, still a bit weary of Dawn.

"Fine." Dawn answered. "I enjoyed last night."

"So… you remember what we did last night?" Bolt asked.

"Well of course." Dawn replied. "Don't you?"

"Sure, sure, it was a hell of a thing." Bolt told her. "So… whacha doin' back here?"

"Oh, just taking a quiet moment to myself." Dawn replied innocently. "You know this shed was used by a groundskeeper who used to come here and take care of the place. But he stopped coming after awhile because he was scared of the ghosts. Odd how people don't understand the dead."

"…It is you, right Dawn?" Bolt asked hesitantly.

"When the groundskeeper left he left all his tools behind." Dawn continued. "One is this fun electric lawnmower that my new friend Rotom really likes?"

"Rotom?" Bolt repeated.

As if on cue, Rotom burst through a portion of the rear wall next to Dawn. The plasma being had taken a shape similar to a two-wheeled electric lawnmower. The electrical aura around Rotom had become green and had formed a fork-like blade in front of itself. A large fanged grin was on its face. Immediately Rotom began to chase after Bolt, causing him to run away from the shed at a fast pace.

Bolt ran a serpentine path along the backyard, and as Rotom chased after him it cut the long grass in its path. All the while, Dawn followed from a distance giggling. Eventually after Rotom had cut most of the lawn, Bolt had had enough and turned to fight.

"Let's rock Raikou!" Bolt called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a large yellow saber-toothed tiger with black stripes. On its forehead was a black metal crest and over its nose was something that looked like a light-blue X. On its back was something resembling a cape and a purple thundercloud. It had a slender light-blue tail resembling a lightning bolt hitting the ground.

"Wow, you and your friends have such amazing Pokemon." Dawn commented with an expression of awe.

"Hit that thing with Thunder Bolt Raikou!" Bolt commanded.

Raikou roared and hit Rotom with a large bolt of yellow lightning. Rotom, however, seemed to be effected very little by the attack.

"You'll have to do better than that Bolt darling." Dawn taunted.

"Crap!" Bolt cursed. "Okay Raikou, hit Rotom with Extrasensory!"

Raikou's eyes glowed yellow, and from its forehead it fired a beam of yellow light. The blast hit Rotom and knocked on its side out cold. Dawn quickly called back Rotom and ran around the corner of the house.

"Let's go after her Raikou!" Bolt called.

The tiger of lightning charged at the corner of the house at incredible speed with Bolt chasing after it as fast as he could. But by the time both of them got there, Dawn was nowhere to be found. Out of breath from the running he had done, Bolt decided to take a break from the search and leave the grounds. Raikou followed close behind. As Bolt and Raikou entered the front yard, Bolt kept thinking that perhaps his fears had been confirmed, though he did not want to believe it.

After passing through the iron doors of the front gate, Bolt and Raikou found Marie and Lisa with Zoroark, Darkrai, and Entei. Entei was resting on the ground with Marie sitting against its side. Lisa was on her side asleep with her head resting on Marie's lap.

"I'm guessing you ladies had a run in with Dawn too." Bolt assumed as he approached. "You two okay?"

"Lisa's a bit shaken up, but other than that we're fine." Marie told him. "Clearly there's something wrong with your old friend."

"I'm not so sure about that." Bolt disagreed.

"What do you mean?" Marie asked sounding a little outraged. "Clearly Dawn is insane! It's obvious from the way she terrorized Lisa, and you as well I assume."

"Look, I know this might sound crazy, but there's a chance this might not be what it looks like." Bolt explained. "And if I'm right it might be worse than we thought."

"Is there something you haven't told any of us?" Marie asked suspiciously.

"It's… complicated." Bolt answered. "Plus I'm still almost a hundred percent sure that it's not possible. Or at least I hope I am. Either way, I think our best move is to just wait out here for Ash and Misty and hope that they drag Dawn out with them."

* * *

Meanwhile back inside the Old Chateau, Ash and Misty had arrived in the sitting room of the mansion. They had searched a whole wing of the house and had not found Dawn.

"Looks like Dawn's not here either." Misty sighed. "What now?"

"I guess we go and find the others and see of they found her." Ash answered.

Misty sighed again and leaned against part of the old fireplace, her left elbow pressing against a certain brick. The brick moved in and suddenly the whole fireplace turned around, startling Misty. Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario were alerted by Misty's sudden cry but were too late to do anything. Misty found herself within a fairly large room lit by several candles that looked as if they had been recently lit. The first thing Misty noticed caused her to scream in terror.

It was a human skeleton in a tattered old butler's uniform hanging from the ceiling by a rope around its neck. Misty screamed again when she saw the small bed in the room that had another skeleton on it. This skeleton was that of a child wearing an old tattered pink dress that had faded with age.

"Looks like you found their resting place." A voice said from a dark corner of the room. Dawn emerged from the shadows with the same crazed look in her eyes as before.

"What the hell is all this?" a terrified Misty demanded to know.

"The skeletons in here are those of the little girl and the old butler who live here." Dawn explained. "The story you heard last night had a few things wrong. The girl's parents did leave on vacation and was placed in the butler's care until their return. But her parents never came back. The little girl waited and waited and they still did not come. Then one day she had an accident and fell down the stairs and broke her neck. The butler was crushed; he had failed in his duties to watch over the little girl who he saw as his own grandchild. Out of guilt he took the girl's body to this secret chamber of the house and hung himself, and their bodies remained undiscovered… until now that is."

"How… how do you know all this?" Misty asked after regaining some composure.

"Because they both told me silly." Dawn said as she went over to the bed of the child skeleton and patted the skull. "Their spirits still haunt this house. You saw both of them yesterday. The girl told me that she wouldn't leave until her parents come back, and the butler is too devoted to leave her side. Sad isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I'm getting out of here!" Misty told her.

"You can't leave yet." Dawn said with an eerie smile. "The fun is just getting started. Let's play Shadinja!"

From the Pokeball that Dawn threw out came what looked like a brown floating husk of a large insect resembling a cicada. The flaps on its back near the hole where the actual insect had breached gave the impression of wings, and floating above its head was something that looked like a white halo.

"Oh god, a bug!" Misty cried as the last of the color drained from her skin.

"You know the Pokemon Nincada, right? When they evolve into Ninjask they shed their old skin, and that skin takes on a life of its own and becomes a Shadinja." Dawn explained. "Most trainers are aware of this, but some don't even realize and just think the shed skin is trash. That's what happened with this Shedinja. Its old trainer didn't even know that it was alive, so I took it in. It's a really hard Pokemon to beat by the way. Think you can beat it?"

"Go… Suicune!" Misty called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball with a roar was a creature that looked like a cross between a wolf and a leopard. It was mostly blue and had a white underside. On parts of its body were white diamond-shaped spots, and on its forehead was a large teal crest in the shape of a gem. On its back was something that looked like a cross between a cape and a purple aurora. It had two tails that resembled white streamers that curved around towards its front.

"Oh, what a gorgeous Pokemon!" Dawn commented.

"Use Aurora Beam!" Misty commanded. Suicune opened its mouth and fired a multicolored beam of light at Shedinja. But the beam passed right through Shedinja as if it were air. "What's going on?"

"Shedinja can't be harmed by attacks that do normal damage." Dawn explained. "Now, use Shadow Ball!"

Above its halo Shedinja formed a ball of black energy crackling with purple electricity. It fired the ball at Suicune, hitting the beast of water in the face.

"Attack with Scald!" Misty commanded. Suicune fired a blast of steaming hot water from its mouth, but again the attack passed through Shedinja as if it had gone though air. "What?"

"I told you, you can't hurt Shedinja with attacks that would do regular damage." Dawn reminded her.

Misty took a deep breath to try and calm down. She knew that she was letting her fear get the best of her. After calming down a bit, Misty thought carefully about what Dawn had said, and then an answer came.

"Suicune, attack Shedinja with Gust!" Misty commanded.

Suicune roared and suddenly a wind began to whip up and form into a twister. The beast of water sent the twister at Shedinja, knocking the insect to the ground and blowing out the candles in the room at the same time. Misty and Suicune were left in total darkness. Suddenly the fireplace behind Misty burst inward from a ball of blue light, creating a large hole.

"Misty, you okay?" Ash asked as he rushed into the chamber with Pikachu and Lucario. Misty answered his question by hugging him tightly and almost breaking down in tears. "C'mon, let's get out of this place!"

* * *

Moments later, Ash and Misty left the Old Chateau with Pikachu, Lucario, and Suicune sticking close to them. They went out the front gate to find Bolt and the others. Lisa had since woken up.

"Did you find Dawn?" Bolt asked.

"We should forget Dawn for now and just get out of here." Ash told him. "We can come back with Officer Jenny later to get her."

"That plan is fine with me!" Lisa agreed as she and Marie both got to their feet.

"Are you all leaving so soon?" a voice suddenly asked. Ash and the others turned to see Dawn standing beside the brick wall only a few feet away from them. "But we were just starting to have fun."

"We're though with your games Dawn!" Ash told her.

"But I'm not. Let's play Spiritomb!" Dawn called as she threw out another Pokeball. Emerging from Dawn's thrown ball was a brown stone emitting a whirling purple mass with green orbs and a monstrous face.

"Dammit, enough!" Ash shouted as he threw out a Pokeball of his own. "Go Ho-Oh!"

From Ash's Pokeball came a massive red bird with a long neck and a white underside. Around its neck was a green band, and shimmering green feathers rimmed its wings. It had a large yellow beak and black rings around its eyes. Its tail was made of long golden feathers, and atop its head was a gold comb.

"Wow, pretty." Dawn said with awe.

"Ho-Oh, roast Spiritomb with Sacred Fire!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh's eyes began glowing with a blue light and it whole body became covered in rose-colored flames. With a flap of its great wings, Ho-Oh sent those flames at Spiritomb like a wave. When the flames finally cleared, Spiritomb fell to the ground out cold.

"I've had it with you Dawn!" Ash shouted angrily. "I have no idea why you're messing with us, but enough is enough!"

"Aww, I carried away again, didn't I?" Dawn said sadly as she called back Spiritomb. "I always do that."

"What's going on here?" a voice suddenly asked. Ash and the others turned to the gate and were shocked to see another Dawn standing with Piplup. "What's everyone doing out here?"

"How… how can you be over there?" a very shocked Misty asked.

"What do you mean how can I be over here?" the second Dawn asked as she walked out from the gate, but her question was answered when she looked and saw her doppelganger, causing her to become just as shocked as the others. "…Oh my god!"

"Hello sister." The Dawn that had been terrorizing Ash and the others greeted to her twin with a cheerful smile.

"Oh god, I was right!" Bolt cried. "I hoped that I wasn't, but…"

"What the hell is going on?" Ash demanded to know.

"I guess I should properly introduce myself now." The twisted Dawn spoke. "I'm Dawn's sister, Dusk."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I bet you didn't see that coming. This may not be the most imaginative idea I've had though. But when I had the original idea for this story, I liked the idea of doing a story with a crazy, almost possessed Dawn, but at the same time I liked Dawn's character from the anime. This story almost didn't get produced because of that conflict, but then it occurred to me that since this is my little AU to the anime I could do both by having Dawn have an identical sister. And that's how Dusk came to be. In the next chapter we find out why Dusk is so "out there".

In the meantime, did you like this idea and think it was really creative? Did you hate it and think it was lame and a total letdown? Please review and let me know what you think, because I would really like to know.


	6. From Dawn to Dusk

**Author's Note:** Much of this chapter is exposition, plus it has another little twist at the end. Though it's probably one that most of you see coming. I don't think I need to mention that the title is something of a pun.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 6: From Dawn to Dusk

A shocking revelation had just occurred outside the stonewall surrounding the Old Chateau. Just as Ash and the other were about to confront Dawn about the terror she had been causing inside the house, a girl who was identical to Dawn had stepped through the gates with Piplup. It was then revealed that the girl that had been causing terror was Dawn's identical sister, Dusk. The idea that Dawn had a twin had never occurred to Ash, Misty, Lisa, or Marie. And as to why Bolt had never mentioned Dawn's sibling before they could not guess, but it seemed as though Dusk was some sort of dark secret.

"So… when I ran into Dawn in the forest with that Yamask of hers…" Misty began.

"That was me who you saw." Dusk interjected. "I was really surprised that you thought I was my sister. I had no idea she in this forest when you showed up. I also realized that dear Dawn and I were wearing the exact same outfit. The whole thing was so funny I couldn't resist playing a little joke on all of you."

"I'm guessing you were hiding in the house the whole time we were here." Marie assumed.

"That's right!" Dusk answered cheerfully. "The Old Chateau has all these fun secret rooms and passages. I've been here for weeks, so I know them all like the back of my hand. I was watching you all from behind the walls the whole time last night and this morning."

"And you got into my room last night through one of those secret passages, right?" Bolt asked.

"Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away last night." Dusk confirmed. "I do that a lot. But I was pretty turned on by hearing your friends go at it. And I've always had a little crush on you, Bolt darling. Though I'm a little surprised that you and Dawn aren't together."

"You slept with my sister last night?" Dawn asked Bolt angrily.

"Okay, first of all she came onto me!" Bolt reminded you. "Second, I thought she was you!"

"You are the last person on the planet I would want to sleep with!" Dawn shot back.

"Oh c'mon, you've done way worse than me babe!" Bolt retorted. "Like that littler nerd that used to follow you around all the time, what's his name… Barry!"

"You leave Barry out of this!" Dawn shouted. "Besides, I only went out with him one time!"

"Will you two idiots save this for later?" Marie yelled. "First of all Hanson, why didn't you tell us that Dawn had a twin sister?"

"Well, actually Dawn and Dusk are two of three triplets." Bolt revealed. "And the reason I didn't tell any of you guys about Dawn's sisters is because I didn't think we'd run into them, especially not Dusk. I kinda thought that Dusk was locked up somewhere or something is because she's, well… not quite right."

"That's an understatement." Lisa cut in. "So was Dusk born this way or did something happen to her?"

"It happened when Dusk, my other sister Diane, and I were all three years old." Dawn began with a sigh. "We were all outside playing and I guess Dusk wandered off and just disappeared. I remember how worried our mom was the whole time. It was a long time ago, but I think Dusk was gone for maybe a week. One day she just wandered back into the yard.

"But Dusk was never the same after that week. She always had a weird look in her eyes, the same look she has today, and she kept saying that she could see and hear people that weren't there and that she could understand what Pokemon were saying. Dusk even made up this weird story about where she was when she was missing. The doctors who tried to help Dusk said that she made all of it up to deal with whatever trauma she went though. My mom didn't like the idea of Dusk being locked up in some hospital, so she and Diane have been taking care of her, or at least they were until about eight years ago when she disappeared again."

"You mean she flew the coop again?" Bolt asked sounding surprised.

"Diane and Professor Rowan took Dusk with them to Johto." Dawn continued. "They were exploring some ruins and they think Dusk wandered off again. There was a search, but nobody found her, at least not until today."

"Did you ever find out what really happened to Dusk when she was three?" Misty suddenly asked.

"No, and I don't think we ever will." Dawn sighed.

"…I wandered off because I was looking for my favorite ball which got away from me." Dusk suddenly spoke. "When I found my ball there was this big flash of light and suddenly I was pulled into the air. I guess I passed out after that. When I woke up my head really hurt and I couldn't see anything. I don't remember how long I was on the ground, but eventually my head stopped hurting and I was able to see again. But I had no idea where I was.

"The place I was in was very strange. There was sky all around, and it was dark and scary. The ground was in pieces and floating everywhere, and some pieces had tall wavy plants growing out of them. It was like everything was twisted around. In some places I could walk up walls and stand on a piece of ground that was upside-down. It was actually a little fun."

"Wait a minute… that sounds like the Distortion World!" Ash suddenly realized.

"The what?" Dawn said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a dimension that's ruled by Giratina." Ash explained.

"Whoa, back up dude. Giratina as in one of Sinnoh's mythical dragons?" Bolt asked.

"Yeah, Misty and I were there about nine years ago when we ended up fighting Team Galactic." Ash explained.

"Yay! I knew you and Misty would believe me Ash!" Dusk said happily. "I thought so because the two of you seem somehow different from the others. You have no idea how happy this makes me."

"Dusk, how did you get back home?" Misty asked.

"Well, I was wondering around that place for quite a long time." Dusk continued. "How long I don't remember. But it seemed longer than a day. Then after awhile I ran into this really big Pokemon."

"It must've been Giratina. It's the only Pokemon that lives there." Ash assumed. "What happened next Dusk?"

"He asked me what I was doing in his home." Dusk answered. "I was surprised that I could understand him. Anyway, I told him I was lost and was trying to get home. We talked for a while and I told him about my sisters. He then went away for I little bit and came back. After that he opened this big hole filled with light and told me that I could get home by walking in. I went through the hole and the next thing I remember is being back in the yard at my house.

"My life was different after that. I found that I could see and hear people that others couldn't. It was a few years before I realized that those people were the spirits of the dead. I could also understand what Ghost Pokemon could say. But nobody believed me, ever. Not the doctors, not my mom, not even my own sisters. They all think I'm crazy. You have no idea how lonely that is. My only friends are Ghost Pokemon and those who are no longer of this world."

"…I don't know what to say Dusk." Dawn suddenly spoke. "But this doesn't excuse what you've done here. I think I should take you home now."

"I'm not going anywhere sister." Dusk said with a somewhat twisted smile. "And if you want to try and drag me home you'll have to beat me first. Let's play… Giratina!"

Emerging from the sparkly orange and white Pokeball that Dusk threw out was a massive serpent-like dragon. It was mainly grey in color and had a black and red-striped underside. It had red eyes and its face was covered in gold plates. On its back were six black streamer-like wings, each tipped with a red spike. On the upper half of the creature's body it had six golden blades resembling a ribcage, and on its lower half it had three long golden-tipped spikes on both sides of its body where legs might normally be.

Ho-Oh, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, and Darkrai all tensed up in response to Giratina's appearance, as did Pikachu, Lucario, and Zoroark. Piplup meanwhile hid behind Dawn.

"Now we can really have fun!" Dusk happily exclaimed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** We'll leave off there for now. I bet many of you are wondering how Dusk has Giratina, and I bet you're wondering how Giratina is in its Origin Form. I bet you're also wondering how Ash and the others are going to get out of this one. All will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned for the thrilling climax.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Newborn Gods

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 7: Newborn Gods

The situation outside the Old Chateau had gone from bad to worse. Ash and the others had learned the full truth of Dusk's troubled past. They did not fully believe that Dusk could see and hear the spirits of the dead, or perhaps did not want to believe it, but it did seem true that Dusk had somehow become lost in the Distortion World at the tender age of three. And Giratina, the Distortion World's mythical guardian, had returned her home. The evidence of this seemed to be confirmed, as Dusk had summoned Giratina to battle.

"Impossible!" Ash exclaimed. "There's no way you could've captured Giratina back then!"

"Huh? Oh, this isn't the Giratina that helped bring me home." Dusk revealed. "I got this one when it was a baby."

"A baby?" Misty repeated with a look of confusion. "But how?"

"It was back when I was in Johto with my sister, Diane, and Professor Rowan." Dusk began. "At the time we were outside and Diane and the professor were studying the ruins we were at…"

* * *

_In a mountainous part of the Johto Region a young Dusk was standing outside of a snowy temple wearing a black coat and pants. Standing a few feet away from her was a girl that was identical in appearance to herself and Dawn; only she was wearing glasses along with a light-blue coat and a white scarf. This girl was busy studying the engravings on a stone pillar when Dusk suddenly heard a noise sounding like a chime coming from the temple._

_"Diane, I think I heard something." Dusk told the girl._

_"Not now Dusk, I'm trying to translate these inscriptions." Diane replied, not once taking her eyes off the pillar she was examining._

_"But I think I really heard something." Dusk said again._

_"I said not now!" Diane scolded._

_"How come you never listen to me?" Dusk asked with a hurt expression._

_"Hmm… if this inscription says what I think it does… I think I should get Professor Rowan." Diane said to herself. "Dusk, you stay here while I get the professor."_

_With that, Diane quickly walked off. Left alone, Dusk decided to investigate the noise coming from the temple. Moments later Dusk had entered the ancient structure. The inside was vast and contained nothing but a triangular design on the floor. Suddenly there was a magnificent flash of golden light. When the light faded standing in its places was a large creature with a horse-like body, though its head looked nothing like a horse. It was covered in white fur and had a dark-grey face and underside. Its hooves were golden and around its midsection was a golden cross-like wheel. Dusk stood in awe before the magnificent creature._

_"Be no afraid child." The being said in a gentle but echoing voice. "Come, step forward."_

_"Who are you?" Dusk asked. "Are you a Pokemon?"_

_"That I am." The creature replied. "I am Arceus, the Original One. What is thy name, child?"_

_"I'm Dusk." The blue-haired girl answered. "What brings you here Mr. Arceus?"_

_"At times I come to this stage to think." Arceus replied. "Perhaps it is no coincidence that we have met. Why hast thou come to this temple?"_

_"Well I'm here with my sister Diane and Professor Rowan." Dusk explained. "They came to study the ruins."_

_"And does that interest thee as well?" Arecus asked._

_"Well, not really." Dusk admitted. "They dragged me along with them because they think I can't be left alone. I can see things that other people can't, but nobody believes me. They think I'm crazy I guess."_

_"Hmm… so thou can see into the worlds beyond this one." Arceus observed. "It is a heavy burden for one to bare."_

_"One of the worst parts is that the people I can see are usually so sad." Dusk told him. "I wish there was something I could do for them."_

_"Perhaps I can give thee a gift to ease thy burden." Arceus revealed. "Stand in that circle on the corner of the stage."_

_After a moment Dusk did as Arceus suggested. The moment she stood on the circle the sky outside went dark and the wind picked up. Arceus began to glow with a bright golden aura, and suddenly several tiny lights came together into a ball of orange light that hovered above the divine Pokemon. Dusk heard a noise that sound like an egg cracking open. The ball of orange light then hit Dusk, and as the sky outside returned to normal she found that she was holding a glittering Pokeball that was orange on top and white on the bottom._

_"That ball contains a newborn Giratina, a Pokemon I created a long, long time ago to protect one of the worlds beyond this one." Arceus explained. "It holds an orb that allows it to assume the form it takes in that world. Somehow I sensed that thou had a bond with the Giratina of the world I speak, which is why I am giving thee this newborn. Perhaps with this Pokemon, thou may finally be able to make a difference. Go forth young Dusk, and see where thy path leads."_

* * *

"...After that I snuck away, taking a Pokedex and a few Pokeballs with me." Dusk continued. "I've been traveling ever since."

"Oh man, that's nuts!" Bolt exclaimed.

"Now then, who wants to play with me and Giratina?" Dusk asked.

"What are we going to do?" Lisa asked the others. "I don't think even Ho-Oh or Darkrai can fight Giratina."

"I could try using Kyogre." Misty suggested.

"I'll handle this." Dawn said with a determined expression as she suddenly stepped forward.

"I was hoping it would be you Dawn." Dusk told her. "So what Pokemon are you going to use?"

"This one." Dawn replied simply as she pulled out a sparkling Pokeball that was pink and white. "Go… Palkia!"

Emerging from Dawn's Pokeball was a large almost light-purple dragon standing on two legs. It had well developed arms, with its forearms covered in armored scales that gave one the impression of gauntlets. Embedded in the armor on each shoulder was a large pink pearl, and on parts of its body were purple stripes. On the back of its long neck was a fin-like crest that extended down to wings on its back.

"How did…?" a surprised Dusk began to ask.

"You're not the only one who met Arceus at the Sinjoh Ruins in Johto." Dawn revealed. "A few months after you disappeared I was in Johto and I decided to visit the ruins myself to find out what happened to you. I went into the same temple that you did and Arceus showed up like he did with you. I asked him if he knew what happened to you, but he didn't say anything. Instead he gave me a newborn Palkia. So sis, you still want to play?"

Dusk simply smiled and quickly jumped onto Girtatina's tail. Quickly Dusk ran up until she was on Giratina's back.

"Catch us if you can!" Dusk called as she and Giratina flew up into the sky.

Dawn and Piplup quickly got onto Plakia's back and flew up after them. Ash and the others stayed on the ground and watched as the two dragons prepared to face off.

"Shouldn't we back Dawn up?" Bolt asked.

"Trust me, it's best to stay out of the way when those dragons fight." Ash told him. Back up in the air, Palkia and Giratina hovered facing each other.

"Plakia, use Spacial Rend!" Dawn commanded.

The pink pearl in Palkia's right shoulder began to glow and its forearm began to glow with a pink light. With a swing of its arm, Palkia sent a crescent-shaped blade of pink energy at Giratina.

"Shadow Force!" Dusk commanded.

Seconds before Palkia's attack hit, Giratina shimmered and disappeared with Dusk. The energy blade kept going until it hit a gathering of trees until a large hill with an old rode. A section of the trees were destroyed, revealing an old rusty turned over car. Meanwhile back up in the air, Dawn, Piplup, and Palkia were looking for Giratina. But in moments a massive black shadow appeared right behind them and struck Palkia in the back. The shadow turned back into Giratina and Dusk. Dusk was giggling at the mischief they have caused.

"Dammit Dusk, this isn't funny!" Dawn scolded. Meanwhile Dusk glanced down at the ground and noticed the car that had been revealed by Palkia's attack.

"Oh, so that's what happened!" Dusk exclaimed. "We'll have to finish this another time sister. Giratina, go get that car!"

The ghostly dragon quickly swooped down and grabbed the upturned car with the blades on its upper body. It then quickly flew off back towards the Old Chateau. Over the courtyard of the decrepit mansion, Giratina gently set down the rusted old vehicle. Ash and the others quickly came to look, as did Dawn on Palkia. The old car contained three human skeletons, one in the driver's seat wearing a chafer's uniform, and two more in the back, one wearing a suit and the other a tattered dress.

"What's going on?" Misty asked.

"Clare, Mr. Franklin, come on out!" Dusk called into the mansion.

In moments ghostly apparitions of the little girl and the old butler Misty had seen the night before appeared in front of the mansion. Lisa fainted at the appearance of the two spirits, causing Marie and Entei to become concerned. Menawhile, the ghost of the little girl floated forward a bit with an expression of surprise on her face.

"Is that… my parent's car?" the ghost girl asked.

"I found it under some trees by a hill." Dusk explained. "I think on their way home their car crashed and they died."

"But… they were coming home, right?" the ghost girl asked with a hopeful expression.

"Yes, but now they're waiting for you to come home." Dusk told her. "So you should go to them."

"Thank you." The ghost girl said with a smile before vanishing. The butler smiled and nodded at Dusk before vanishing himself a second later.

"What was that about?" Bolt asked.

"I'm not just a simple Pokemon Trainer you know. I also do my best to comfort the spirits of the dead." Dusk explained. "And if I can I help them cross over to the other side. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to help the ghost of Maiden's Peak in Kanto. It turned out the spirit of her lover didn't know he was dead, and he and his fellow soldiers were fighting the same battle over and over again."

"So you were here trying to help the ghosts of the Old Chateau." Ash realized. "Why did you play all those trick on us then?"

"As I said before, I couldn't resist." Dusk said with a shrug. "Plus I needed to relieve a little stress. I'm sorry I got so carried away."

"Well it's time to come home." Dawn told Dusk.

"Draco Meteor." Dusk commanded Griatina with a playful smirk.

The plates on Giratina's face began to glow with a blue light. The ghostly dragon then raised its head up and fired a ball of orange light into the sky. Moments later there was an explosion and several small meteors rained down. Palkia and Ho-Oh quickly reacted by blocking the attack to protect the others. When the smoke cleared, Dusk and Giratina were gone.

* * *

A few hours later that gang had gathered at the Eterna City Pokemon Center. Lisa and Marie were sitting on a couch in the waiting room while Dawn sat in a chair and Bolt leaned against the wall tuning his guitar. Ash and Misty soon walked into the room.

"Well, I checked with some friends of mine." Ash told the others. "It turns out that the day Dusk first disappeared there was some crazy scientist in the area toying with some machine that would let him see into other dimensions. Apparently that machine exploded and that's what probably sucked Dusk into the Distortion World."

"What about Dusk's unusual… gift?" Marie asked.

"Who knows?" Ash shrugged. "Maybe it was a side effect of the explosion. We'll probably never know."

"Maybe if I had believed Dusk about what happened to her none of this would've happened." Dawn sighed.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself." Bolt told her. "I mean it is a pretty whacked out story."

"Still, if just one person had believed my sister she wouldn't be so warped." Dusk pointed out. "I wonder if I'll ever see her again?"

"I'm sure one day you'll be able to patch things up with Dusk." Ash assured her.

"I hope you're right." Dawn said as she got up. "Well, I need to be going if I want to make it to the next Pokemon Contest. I hope I'll see you all again."

"Same here." Misty replied, and with that Dawn left with Piplup.

"I should be going too if I want to make it to my gig on time." Bolt spoke up. "Don't want to keep the fans waiting."

"We'll see you later then." Ash replied. Bolt waved and then walked off.

"Marie and I we'll be going too." Lisa said as she and her girlfriend got up. "We're going to hang around the city for awhile before heading to Unova."

"Take care." Misty said to them.

"You too." Marie replied as she and Lisa left.

"Well, should we get back to that project Professor Oak wanted us to do?" Ash asked Misty.

"Yeah, but let's do it tomorrow." Misty told him. "I think we need a break from Eterna Forest. Let's go have lunch, I'm starving."

Ash nodded in agreement, and in moments the couple left with Pikachu and Lucario. Unbeknownst to them, Dusk and Giratina were watching them from above.

"I sure did like meeting Ash and Misty." Dusk told the ghostly dragon. "We should play with them again some time. But for now we should go."

Giratina growled in agreement, and with that the two flew off for parts unknown.

THE END?

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, there you have it. I'm not sure if this story contained the amount of horror that I wanted, but it was fun to write. The way Dawn and Dusk ended up with Palkia and Giratina is based on the special event in HeartGold and SoulSilver involving Arceus. There was also a reference to the anime episode, _The Ghost of Maiden's Peak_, in this chapter. It's an old episode, but a fairly good one. Anyway, as the ending implied, Dusk will probably be back in my future stories. In fact I have an idea for a sequel to this story. But I'm going to put that on hold for a bit and do the story of Ash's encounter with Team Galactic (the revised version). So thank you for reading and stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


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